The Heart of an Angel
by Lone Canadian
Summary: Alfred is struggling through life with a divorced family also causing the separation between him and his twin brother. He begins to suffer from depression and just as life seemed ready to kill him off like in one of his favorite comics, his Guardian Angel appears...but who knew Angels had Russian accents? Human AU, FACE family, character death. Rating may change for later chapters.
1. A Sad Beginning

**Author's note: **Hi! Some who read this may have read my numerous old UKUS fanfictions or maybe even the one I made that became fairly well known about the love between an American and his British foreign exchange student. Well, I love RusAme now and decided to come back and make my first RusAme fanfiction! Please enjoy this chapter and just know this,

This is the part you will hate me for.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hetalia or any of these characters.

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_Alone._

W-who said that?

_...Alone. You're all alone...again._

Sweat dripped from his forehead as if this anxious feeling of his was a faucet. The room felt suddenly foreign to him and ready to trap him their forever. Every corner grew a pair of cold, unyielding eyes full of malice and the floorboards' creaking became startling hisses in his direction. The darkness seemed to creep in closer, but not with any friendly intentions.

Ivan grabbed hold of the scarf around his neck and picked himself up off the ground. He ran, oh how he ran. No one was home tonight. There was no warm supper waiting for him on the stove with an almost motherly smile from his older sister. The footsteps of his adoring younger sister walking into the kitchen couldn't be heard on this night either. Ivan kept running as far away from his home as possible. Even with a blizzard he managed to get to his old favorite tree where he used to play with his sisters years and years ago. Even this tree that he had a place for in his heart seemed to give a quiet chuckle at his distress. There was nothing left now.

The snow caked his jacket that he wouldn't need for much longer and the wind whispered encouraging words in his ear.

_Come on, faster. You're almost there..._

Ivan bit his lip in his efforts to climb the tree as the snow continued to pummel him. The tree's limbs gave him a helping hand and kept him elevated while pulling him up to the next set of branches. He climbed to the second branch but it wasn't high enough! There was no going back at this point! He couldn't take it any longer!

His sisters were gone now. They were the only people he had left. They left him here to die alone and he would comply. The tortures of having to move on when he knew that he could never look past this, it was too much for him to bear. Ivan strained to reach the top branch before scrambling to the highest part of the tree that would hold his weight for just a few more seconds. Ivan's breath hitched when he looked down and couldn't even see the ground below him. The height along with the blizzard almost made him feel like he was on top of the world and excitement filled his lungs for just a brief moment before what he was about to do brought him back to reality.

The scarf that had been tightly woven around his neck was slipped off and he began to tie it into the specific knot he needed. Ivan made sure his scarf was secure to the tree branch with as many intertwined knots as the fabric had room for. This was one of those times where he was thankful his older sister had made the scarf long enough to reach the floor. Ivan nudged his head through the opening he had kept in the knot at the end of the scarf and his mind barely recognized the tears that formed but refused to fall.

The noose was complete and now he only had one thing left to do—if he could do it that is. Ivan slowly stood on the slightly swaying branch. He didn't register that the snow was beginning to make his hands turn a light shade of blue at his fingertips and he didn't care. He looked out at the storm in front of him and let the storm inside rage along with it. He couldn't make out much in the distance with such limited visibility but he almost thought he caught a glance of two figures in the distance fighting their way against the snow and heavy winds.

He hadn't counted on an audience tonight but maybe they would enjoy his last performance. They struggled against the storm but slowly made progress and walked forward, their footprints quickly hidden by the falling snow. As they got closer, Ivan could make out that one was wearing a dark dress and the other a long winter coat. They almost looked familiar in a way...wait, they did look familiar! Squinting in hopes of a better view, he spotted the boots he had saved money for and bought in time for his younger sister to open on her last birthday and the mittens he learned to knit so that his older sister's hands wouldn't freeze from frostbite. He could even see Natalia's Lace bow sitting steady on her head. It certainly wasn't going anywhere just like how she almost had never left his side as well. Until now that is.

What were they doing here though? H-had they...had they come back for him?

But at that moment, the branch couldn't hold his weight any longer and Ivan Braginski fell from the tallest point of his favorite old tree where he and his sisters used to play. Now his sisters weren't under the tree laughing with him but close enough to the base of the tree to watch his body fall through the storm. Ivan pleaded with the wind strangling him as he fell to not let him die like this. He took it back! He didn't want to die anymore!

The tree battered and mauled him causing Ivan to thrash about in a last attempt to save himself. His hand almost caught a branch but it slipped from his grasp all too quickly.

The scarf could stretch no longer, meeting its end along with Ivan who now hung limp and silent just a few feet above the ground. What was left of the tears he had refused to let fall tumbled down his cheek.

The blizzard stopped. His heart stopped.

The whole world ceased.

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**Final Thoughts:** Whoops, my hand slipped...and so did Ivan. Don't worry though, this is just a fanfiction. I promise you he's still alive in his warm and cozy home in Moscow!

I hope I'll actually update this so that it's not just a one shot of Ivan dying but who knows, I procrastinate a lot. The next chapter if I get to it will include (spoiler alert)...ALFRED! Thank you so much for reading!


	2. Some Slight Changes

**Author's note: **I'm sorry for not updating this for a while! I didn't think I would continue this but I felt like writing one night and decided what the heck, why not?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hetalia or any of these characters.

Ivan's eyes opened a sliver. Instead of falling to his death while thoroughly beaten by the wind and snow, he was slowly tumbling down through the clouds. They felt so...soft. When he tried to reach out and grab hold of the almost transparent vapor, his hand passed right through, barely getting a feel at the texture. They felt soothing in a way. He fell at a slow, relaxed, almost leisurely pace. Ivan had time to admire the clear, electric blue sky that never ended and his heart felt free for the first time he could remember. As time passed he noticed the clouds become thicker and less transparent. They were no longer small puffs of haze. If his hand could pass freely through them earlier, it probably wasn't possible anymore.

After a short while, the number of clouds increased and it became even brighter than it had been. The clouds started to separate around him as if they were only an escort to wherever he was going. In fact, he just realized he didn't know where he was or what he was doing here. Yes, he was up in the sky amidst some clouds but why? How? He couldn't even remember what he had been doing before he woke up here.

Ivan's position maneuvered without his control and he gently flipped around. Had he been upside down this whole time? With the changing of position, he could now see before him a series of clouds that formed a misfit set of stairs leading up to...he had no clue. There was too much light coming from where the stairs met their end. Looking down he only saw the never ending sky. There were no cities, no forests, no people; there wasn't even an Earth below him. That meant the only way to go was up.

The first step surprisingly didn't give way. Ivan tested it thoroughly to make sure, putting his full weight on the leg standing on the staircase then putting both feet on for a moment. Finally approving of the irregular flight of stairs, he walked up to the next step. It was weird, shouldn't he have been a little more questioning of whatever this all was? Somehow his soul just seemed to know what to do. It was tugging at him and trying to break free as if Ivan didn't move fast enough for its liking. Curiosity dawned on him and Ivan began to climb faster up the stairs. There were so many yet his body didn't give a single sign of fatigue. His legs sped up of their own accord and his soul kept pulling at him. This place even seemed a little familiar when he thought hard enough, way back into his blurred memories.

He reached the last fogged stair and came face to face with the rays of light bursting from whatever it was before him. His soul continued to attempt and pry itself away from him, desperately seeking whatever this light show was. He looked down, jostled at how physical his soul was being for the first time in his life but noticed that there actually was something trying to tug away from his presence. There was a small key tied to a lace ribbon around his neck. The ribbon was a crimson red and reminded him of blood. The Russian unraveled the knot resting on the back of his neck and the necklace broke free. He grabbed the key before it could fly out of his reach. All of the life in his body seemed to deplete as soon as he slipped the ribbon out of its place but he didn't just feel it, Ivan could _see _the life leaving him. His body slowly lost its light and it traveled through himself to his arm where it crawled up his hand and into the key. Then it hit him. This key...it really was his soul, and it was begging him to walk closer to the light.

The urge was something Ivan couldn't resist even if he had wanted to and he found his feet walking forward without listening to his commands. Being engulfed by light was an experience he never knew was possible but apparently it was. All around him there was bright light but his eyes didn't disappoint him as he could still see with ease. The key pulled on Ivan and he stumbled forward until his face met a lock. It was obvious to him what his soul wanted him to do. Ivan's fingers were starting to go numb and it was becoming harder to breath as the moments passed. If he didn't open this lock, he would surely die here.

The key fit into the lock perfectly as if the two rehearsed for this day. As soon as the key turned, the light became brighter but he could begin to see that they were now having to shine around a massive, gold shining gateway that was forming in front of his very eyes. The gate creaked open at first but then flew open the rest of the way. It reminded him of distant families in movies, heaving open the doors to their homes upon seeing who exactly it was outside before welcoming them in. Winds pushed against his back and ushered him through the gates. Ivan's key shone brightly and floated from in front of him into a pocket of his.

_Where am-_

"Hello, and welcome to the darned best place in the entire universe! My name is Dan and you darn believe it! I'm originally from Colbert, Georgia- the state, not the country- right smack dab in the middle of Madison County! It's down yonder a little ways from Atlanta, you know, where they have the world's biggest aquarium and the Coca Cola factory? I always loved goin' to see them penguins and-"

"W-what?"

This guy just popped out of nowhere! What in the name of all of things Russian is he talking about?

"Haha! I love seein' the faces of you newcomers! Always so confused but don't worry, I'm here to help! Any questions so far, little- er, big fella'?" asked whats-his-name. Oh, Dan. Right. He was at a pretty average height but to Ivan, that meant he was at least four inches smaller than himself. His ruffled blonde hair and genuine smile made him look so welcoming and nice. Dan flexed a small wing behind his right shoulder and Ivan's eyes went wide as he noticed Dan's wings for the first time but he soon believed them to be a trick of the light. Humans didn't have wings. What was he thinking?

"Well, first of all, where are we?" Ivan needed to know because if he had been confused before, he was dumbstruck now.

"We're in Heaven of course! What, did you think the best place in the entire universe was like some beach with a setting sun over the horizon?" Dan chuckled to himself. "You newcomers never cease to make me laugh!" The blonde looked at what Ivan assumed was a watch but looked more like some sort of ancient time machine wrapped around his wrist and his face suddenly went blank.

"We're late."

Ivan became even more confused. "We're-"

"_We're late!" _Dan grabbed Ivan's arm and ran across the clouds they had been standing on, dragging Ivan with him.

"W-wait, where are we going?!"

"You have to meet the Commander at exactly 5 o'clock so we're already late by 3.9 seconds!"

"I-"

"Don't worry about it now, new guy! Just run! When we get to the door, jump inside and I promise he's right down yonder!"

"Jump?!"

"Yes! Now!"

The whole dimension, universe, wherever he was turned on its side and he fell through the door that was now below him. Thankfully it opened before he smashed into it. He landed, or fell, really, onto the hard ground of what looked like a huge mansion. The ceiling was far above him and there were timeless paintings of angels stretching across the walls. At least now he felt a little more familiar with this setting seeing as how the room wasn't made out of clouds any longer.

Ivan managed to sit up. Even though he had fallen from a height equivalent to a skyscraper, he felt fine. ...Was he really in Heaven?

"Welcome, Ivan Braginski. I expected you to be here 5 seconds ago. Dan never was good at timing even when he was alive, I suppose," stated a voice from across the room. It was loud, strict, and demanding. Whoever this 'Commander' was, Ivan made a quick guess that it was probably the man before him.

Looking up from the ground, the Russian collided with two steel blue eyes that pierced through his own. They scrutinized every detail of his appearance as Ivan couldn't help but fidget under the man's gaze. He had blond hair slicked back with a pair of sideburns that were one of the most prominent characteristics of his face. The Russian also couldn't help but notice the giant pair of wings that rested on the man's back.

"I am sure you are relived that you have a pure soul."

Ivan was only relieved that he had made it here in one piece but didn't say that as he was taken aback from hearing the man speak suddenly, and with a German accent at that. "A pure soul? What do you mean?"

"If you had not owned a pure soul, you wouldn't have been met with clouds and a vast blue sky after your death. You are a Christian, are you not? Orthodox Christian to be exact. You must know about Heaven and Hell. Humans talk about them quite a bit often now that there is controversy around the topic of whether people who are attracted to the same gender are still God's children." His voice was cold. It was obvious that this topic was one that could not be argued with to this man.

"My death? I'm- I am very confused...sir," Ivan figured it was a smart move to go ahead and be formal and the small smile he was rewarded with proved his good judgment.

"Forgive me, I have forgotten to introduce myself properly. My name is Ludwig Beilschmidt. I was German when I was still alive as you can probably tell. I am now the Commander of all Angels. I instruct the ones who do my bidding and place the others in their destined positions. I am in charge of the Angels who watch over the young, bring the sun and moon across the sky, guard the feeble human life, change the seasons of the Earth, and protect this sacred place. My position is of one below the almighty God who reins all. I expect much from you Ivan and I believe that you will not fail my task for you."

This was too much to take in at once. He...really was in Heaven? _The _Heaven? That could only mean-

"Yes, Ivan. You are dead on Earth, but here you are still alive," the Commander moved his hands in a gesture that suggested he meant more than just this room, "It is your gift for keeping your soul pure. You have done many great things that outweigh the sins you have indulged in."

"I...I don't know how to respond to this."

"Do not worry. You will enjoy being an angel. Though now we have come to the part of our conversation that I tell you your specific position."

Ivan's mind was still reeling. His sisters, what were they going to do without him? He couldn't seem to even remember anything about his life down on Earth other than the happiest of moments he had shared with the people around him.

"You do not remember how you faced your death but it is what decides your fate above. You, Ivan Braginski, chose death of your own will. You did not have the best life and had rather died than be alone. Before you shut your eyes forever, you had regretted your decision but it was too late. You died at your own hands."

It was as if the Commander had painted a picture in Ivan's mind. The words that slipped from the Commander's tongue created visuals that must have been from his past life as a human. Ivan cringed. It still put him on edge to remind himself that he wasn't human any longer.

"Now Ivan, the ones who die at their own hands are responsible for keeping others from this fate as well. This being said, your new endless life in Heaven will actually be spent on Earth, for you are a Guardian Angel. This is neither a curse nor a burden. God loves his children and forgives all they have done. You should take this position in stride even if it means that you cannot live in Heaven per say. For many, this is an honor and is an enjoyable post. Bringing smiles to one's face still gives you happiness as an Angel of course."

A Guardian Angel...something Ivan had never thought of himself as being. It certainly sounded like a big job and had the perks of still being able to visit Earth.

"I see that you are pleased. I am glad that you welcome this destiny. Some do not realize this position to be a blessing. Italians specifically tend to complain when given this role." The Commander rubbed his forehead in agitation which only gave Ivan an amused smile.

"Come, it is time for you to receive your wings."

"My...my wings?" The Russian perked up at what he heard. Wings...wow. He wondered if they would look like the Commander's of if they would be like the wings in the paintings he saw all around the room. They seemed to be painted by humans though, as he saw Michelangelo's 'The Creation of Adam' behind Commander Beilschmidt, so he could not be sure.

"Walk to the center of the room, Ivan."

Ivan followed as the man beckoned him to the center. It was then he realized that he stood beneath a hole in the ceiling that must have been deliberately put there. As he waited for the Commander to make a move, light began to spill from the opening in the ceiling and fell around him. The Russian had never known light to act this way but this was a day full of surprises. He didn't know what to expect anymore.

Soon Ivan's arms were being pulled into the air and the rest of his body was lifted as well. Slowly hovering until he was a few feet above the ground, the light shifted its path and began to circle around him. Ivan was mesmerized by the beautiful sight. The rays cascaded and crossed paths with each other to create incredible shades of every color that came to mind. Before they grew closer to him and hugged his body, Ivan noticed how warm he felt. The warmth felt so good and he was filled with pleasure.

The light that had once swarmed him now clung to his form like he was wearing it as clothing. The pleasure blocked out most of Ivan's thoughts but some distant part of him felt a pressure on his back as the bones altered their position. Suddenly he heard an enormous flapping sound. He was no longer being carried by the light. The light had left his body completely. Instead, a pair of wings was carrying his weight now. _His _wings.

Ivan gasped at the sight. They were huge! When he stretched them they spanned much farther than his arms could ever hope to reach! His wings were a heavenly white from what he could see. The feathers gradually became a few shades blonder before they hit his back. They were beautiful.

"Newborn Angels such as yourself have wings that look slightly different from angels who have lived here for centuries. Since you are still adapting, your body hasn't completely gotten rid of its human instincts. Your body will always feel physically like a human's and you will feel emotions and such as they do as well, but the feathers of your wings are purely Angel. When first born, the feathers near your back are the color of your hair and fade into white. After a long while, those feathers will also fade to the same pure white as the rest of your feathers. For some it takes only ten years for them to fade though there have been Angels who have taken up to a century for this change to occur. This change is always followed by a celebration for the Angel whose wings have finally matured," the Commander stated as he admired Ivan's wings of ashen blond.

"I-I love them! They are so incredible! I get to keep these wings forever, da?" Ivan had never felt so excited in his life!

Commander Beilschmidt chuckled at Ivan's enthusiastic response to his new appendages. "Ja, you get to keep them forever, Ivan. Though you must get going, I have to meet another new arrival any second now. My work never stops, you know. We have Angels who greet the newcomers not just to welcome them to Heaven but also because it would be chaotic if we had a line of new, confused Angels waiting to meet with me. It's why I must have the Angels that I keep at my side help me give the new ones their posts. You were one of the lucky ones who actually got to meet with me."

Ivan had forgotten that Heaven's gates were probably a really busy place.

"...How much work do you have during a war?" Ivan was hesitant to ask.

"More than I'd like." Commander Beilschmidt looked grim. Ivan could tell how much he detested war.

"If that is the last question you have for me, I welcome you to Heaven, Ivan Braginski."

A door opened to the left of Ivan and the Commander gestured to it. Ivan strode out of the high ceilinged room and resisted the urge to glance back at the Commander. When he walked through the doorway, the door closed behind him and he was faced with another Angel. This one did not give off the same aura as Commander Beilschmidt and so he could only assume that this Angel was of a lesser ranking. Ivan took the time to notice that this Angel's wings weren't tainted of any color but a pretty white. They weren't as grand as the Commander's and not even as grand as his own if he did say so himself.

"Ivan Braginski, you are now a member of Heaven. Do you solemnly swear to protect all that Heaven stands for, the protection and continuation of human life?" asked the Angel with a slight English accent.

"Da," Ivan replied. The Angel looked at him funny as if he hadn't expected him to respond in his native tongue. The man rolled open a scroll he had been holding and read a certain section of it.

"Ivan Braginski, you have been assigned the human Alfred F. Jones. You will now forever be his Guardian Angel until his life is no more or if you fail your task and are forced to part with him. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Ivan chose to answer in English this time. He didn't like receiving strange looks from people. Before the Angel could show him the way out, Ivan blurted out a question he had been wondering for a while.

"What about reincarnation? Is it real?" Hopefully speaking out wasn't forbidden here.

The Angel stopped in his tracks. "Why...yes. It is. God has a plan for everyone and those who die before fulfilling their purpose are reincarnated into a next life. They do not reach Heaven until finally performing their destiny as a human. Not every human born is a reincarnation but I would say a good amount of them are."

That was interesting to know. There was a lot of questions Ivan had about the world he wanted answered but he chose to keep his mouth shut for now. He was led to a new set of gates. They weren't the ones he had come through though they looked very similar to each other.

"When you walk through these gates, you will be transported to where your human is in current time. Only your human and other Angels can see you, remember that. Most humans do not have Guardian Angels so you will not see too many of our kind on Earth. I wish you luck on your journey and that you will enjoy this task of yours. The boy needs you desperately and I will be glad to see him happy for the first time in ages."

"Thank you. I will do my best and protect this boy with my life."

The Angel nodded and the shining gates opened simultaneously. Ivan walked up to the gates and took a deep breath. Things were moving very quickly and there wasn't much time to adjust. All of these new changes today were a lot to take in but he knew that he needed to be ready.

"I almost forgot to tell you! As a Guardian Angel, you get all of your memories back! They are to help you prevent your human from doing what you have done. Use them wisely and do not brood over them, no matter how sad they may be." The Angel in front of him touched his index finger to Ivan's forehead. Memories flooded back into his mind. How he died, his family situation growing up, the tree he played on with his sisters as a child, everything was there again. Before Ivan could think too much of the sadness of his past life, he walked through the gates determined not to get distracted by his memories.

He had one task at hand and that was to be Alfred F. Jones' new Guardian Angel.

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**Final Thoughts: **I am a horrible writer...I hope you guys liked this anyways! It's slowly moving along at least. I enjoyed writing about Heaven since it was fun to come up with different theories but it is so much easier to write about the real world. I said Alfred would be in this chapter but I ended up putting too much into the part about Heaven so he'll be in the next chapter! At least Ivan isn't completely dead, eheh.


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